I liked it for what it was. There were a lot of hints toward the Avengers. I thought the acting was good. Overall, I would say the first movie was much better. I too feel they stripped way to much out of the Whiplash fights, and really his character all together. Not that this is a shocker or anything, but I also noticed there were a few scenes from the trailer that weren't in the movie. All-in-all I would give it a B+. It was a solid flick and very entertaining.
BTW...Scarlett's scenes were nice, cause she's so hot, but the action was fake as ****!